Mobile telecommunication networks and digital broadcasting services

ABSTRACT

At integrated hybrid telecommunication system for providing voice, packet data and digital broadcast/multicast services to a mobile terminal ( 100 ) is disclosed. In an embodiment of the invention, the system includes a mobile telecommunication network ( 110 ) for providing lower bandwidth services and a digital broadband network ( 140 ) for delivering higher bandwidth broadcast content. In an embodiment, a broadcast service such as a video broadcast can be viewed by selecting the service on e.g. a portal page displayed on the mobile terminal ( 100 ). The request is received by the mobile telecommunication network ( 110 ), which is coupled to the broadcast network ( 140 ) for retrieving the associated service parameters. The service parameters are transmitted to the mobile terminal ( 100 ) via the mobile telecommunication network ( 110 ). The received parameters enable a broadcast receiver in the mobile terminal ( 100 ) to receive the broadcast service transmitted by the broadcast network ( 140 ).

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to mobile telecommunicationnetworks and, more particularly, to the delivery of digital services towireless mobile terminals that are accessible though portal pages.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The deployment of advanced high bit-rate mobile networks has opened upnew opportunities for delivering a host of services in a way that wasnot possible with earlier second generation wireless networks. Thirdgeneration systems such as Universal Mobile Telephone Service (UMTS) oreven lower bit-rate systems such as High Speed Circuit Switched Data(HSCSD) and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) specified for use withthe Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) wireless standard,will enable the delivery of new digital services such as video calls andthe playback of multimedia applications that are comprised of audio andvideo clips.

Although the increased bit-rates of UMTS systems widen the possibilitiesfor providing digital services, many estimates forecast that thesesystems can reliably deliver data rates between 64 to 384 kbit's tomoving mobile terminals. Bit bit rates of up to 2 Mbits can be achievedfor stationary environments. These rates provide pretty good performancefor delivering high quality digital audio and acceptable quality movingimage clips. However, at these transfer rates it will be difficult tohandle exceedingly high data Intensive tasks such as delivering highquality full-motion video and transferring very large data files tomobile terminals. Attempts at downloading huge data files will likelylead to inconveniently long downloading times which probably would notbe the most economical in terms of cost per megabyte. For this and otherreasons, alternative broadband delivery channels have been investigatedthat could provide a practical solution for high data intensive tasks interms of lower cost and convenience for the parties involved.

One such delivery channel that has shown promise is Digital VideoBroadcasting DVB-T). DVB-T, which is related to DVB-C (cable) and DVB-S(satellite), is the terrestrial variant of the DVB standard and is awireless point-to-multipoint data delivery mechanism developed fordigital TV broadcasting and based on the MPEG-2 transport stream for thetransmission of video and synchronized audio. DVB has the capability ofefficiently transmitting large amounts of data over a radio channel to ahigh number of users at a lower cost, when compared to data transmissionthrough mobile telecommunication networks using e.g. UMTS/GPRS. DVB-Tdata rates have been shown to provide up to 4-20 Mbit/s, where the lowerend of the range corresponds to reception within a very high speed (300km/h) moving receiver. Another advantage of DVBT is that it has provento be exceptionally robust in that it works well in geographicconditions that would normally affect other types of transmissions, suchas the rapid changes of reception conditions, and hilly and mountainousterrain.

Digital broadband data broadcast networks are known. As mentioned, anexample of such a network enjoying popularity in Europe and elsewhereworld-wide is Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) which in addition to thedelivery of televisual content is capable of delivering data. Otherexamples of broadband data broadcast networks that provided under theAdvanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC). Both ATSC and DVB utilizea containerization technique in which content for transmission is placedinto MPEG-2 packets which act as data containers. Thus, the containerscan be utilized to transport any suitably digitized data including, butnot limited to High Definition TV, multiple channel Standard definitionTV (PAUNTSC or SECAM) and, of course, broadband multimedia data andinteractive services.

The combined use of mobile telecommunications with a broadband deliverychannel such as DVBT has been proposed in the past in order to achieveefficient delivery of digital services to users on the move. This wouldtake advantage of existing infrastructures in the effort to providepersonal communications (already prevalent) and the growing demand forInternet access, together with the expected rise of digitalbroadcasting, so that users can receive these services with a singledevice. Furthermore, DVB-T is a cross platform standard that is sharedby many countries thereby making frequency compatibility and roamingless of an issue. The combination of the mobile telecom and at arelatively very low cost digital broadband channel provides thepossibility of interactive services such as unidirectional andbidirectional services such as audio and video streaming (TV & Radio),file downloads and advanced gaming applications etc.

However, there are some challenges with developing the mobile terminalsneeded for combined use with e.g. DVB-T. A significant issue to consideris that power consumption for mobile terminals must be low enough toprovide sufficient use while operating independently from power sources.DVB-T terminals have In the past had high power consumption rates whichmake them unsuitable for sustained use. This is partly due to the wayDVB operates where receivers regularly access broadcast ServiceInformation (DVB-SI) that accompany DVB signals which assist thereceiver/decoder and the viewer to navigate through the array ofservices offered. The data is also necessary for the receiver/decoder toautomatically configure itself to decode the received broadcast streamthat is included in the Program Specific Information (PSI) specified by,for example, the MPEG-2 systems standard. The DVB-SI specifiesadditional data based on data tables that complement the PSI byproviding data to aid in the automatic tuning of receiver/decoders andprovides additional information intended for display to the user.

In the development of DVB-T, it was envisioned that signal receptionwould be mainly carried out by set-top boxes in generally stationaryenvironments where power consumption issues were largely unimportant.However with reception by e.g. mobile handheld devices, the requirementof DVB-T to regularly access Service Information data tables places aheavy power burden on the terminal. This is especially the case when theSI tables are accessed even when the user does not want to view aprogram for some length of time. In mobile terminals that also operateas telecom devices, power consumption is a particularly important issuesince users expect sufficiently reasonable battery life for necessarycommunication purposes which they expect to be available. At present, itis only possible to build DVB-T mobile receivers with only a few hoursof operating time. With improved operating life, data packet basedterminals can be left on practically all of the time fulfilling thepromise of anytime and anywhere mobile communications.

In view of the foregoing, it is desirable to improve the operating timesof mobile terminals that are operable with mobile telecommunication anddigital broadcast networks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly described and in accordance with an embodiment and relatedfeatures of the invention, in an apparatus aspect of the invention thereis provided a system for providing services to a mobile terminal (100)characterized in that said services include broadband services and lowerbandwidth services, comprising:

-   -   a mobile telecommunication network (110);    -   at least one mobile telecommunication service server (120)        coupled to the mobile telecommunication network (110) for        providing said lower bandwidth services;    -   a broadcast network (140);    -   at least one broadcast service server (130) coupled to the        broadcast network (140) for providing broadband services; and    -   a portal server (120) coupled to the mobile telecommunication        network (110) and the at least one broadcast service server        (130), said servers communicating with the mobile terminal (100)        via the mobile telecommunication network (110) for providing        information relative to the services.

In a related apparatus aspect of the invention there is provided aportal server coupled to a broadband network (140) and to a lowerbandwidth network (110) for providing broadband and lower bandwidthservice transmissions to a mobile terminal (100), characterized in thatsaid portal server comprises:

-   -   means for accessing selectable service information relative to        said broadband service transmissions;    -   means for accessing selectable service information relative to        said lower bandwidth service transmissions; and    -   a controller for selecting service information for said        broadband and lower bandwidth service transmissions based on a        service request by a user of the mobile terminal (100).

In a method aspect of the invention, there is provided a method ofaccessing a telecommunication system by a mobile terminal (100) forreceiving voice, packet data, and broadcast services, wherein thetelecommunication system is comprised of a mobile network (110) linkedto a telecom server (120) and a portal server (120), a broadcast network(140) linked to a broadcast server (130) and to the mobile network(110), and wherein the mobile terminal (100) is capable of communicatingwith the mobile network (110) and receiving broadcasts from thebroadcast network (140), the method is characterized in that the serviceinformation associated with a broadcast from the broadcast network (140)is obtained by the mobile terminal (100) via the mobile network (110),thereby lowering power consumption by the mobile terminal (100) byavoiding alternative high power actions for obtaining said information.

In a device aspect of the invention, there is provided a wirelesshandheld mobile terminal 100 for providing services to a usercharacterized in that said mobile terminal comprises:

-   -   a radio frequency transceiver for communicating with a mobile        telecommunication network (110) for receiving lower bandwidth        services;    -   a broadcast receiver for receiving broadband services from a        digital broadcast network (140);    -   an input user interface (420) including selectable links to        access service information relative to broadband and lower        bandwidth services for entering user request to selected service        to be transmitted via the mobile telecommunication network        (110);    -   a CPU (404) connected to said radio frequency transceiver and to        said broadcast receiver for controlling communication with the        mobile telecommunication network (110) and the reception of        broadband services; and    -   a means for displaying requested service to the user.

In a product aspect, there is provided a computer program productcomprising program instructions executable by a computing system foroperating networks that provide mobile telecommunication services anddigital broadcast content to a mobile terminal (100), comprising:

-   -   computer program code for receiving a user request from the        mobile terminal for information relating to broadcast content        sent via the mobile telecommunications network;    -   computer program code for executing the user request and sending        the information to the mobile terminal (100) using packet data        transmission;    -   computer program code for facilitating communication between a        mobile telecommunication network (110) and a broadcast network        (140) hosting the broadcast content; and    -   computer program code for performing the transmission of        broadcast content from the broadcast network (140) to the mobile        terminal (100).

In a further apparatus aspect, an Electronic Program Guide (EPG) forcomprising information on broadband services provided by a broadbandnetwork (140), characterized in that the Electronic Program Guideinformation is accessible to a wireless mobile terminal via a portalpage (160) communicated through a mobile telecommunication network(110), and wherein broadcast service parameters associated with a userselected broadcast service are sent via a portal server (120) coupled tothe broadband network (140) and the mobile telecommunication network(110).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention, together with further objectives and advantages thereof,may best be understood by reference to the following description takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a hybrid mobile telecom and DVB-T system operating inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary portal and its interrelation with datacontent residing on the telecom and broadcast networks;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a typical data access procedure operating inaccordance with the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of the basic components in an exemplarymobile terminal (MMT) that is suitable for use with the embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a second embodiment of the invention that depictingthe detailed use of an exemplary hybrid network portal and itsinterrelation with data content residing on the telecom and broadcastnetworks;

FIG. 6 depicts a user interface of a portal page downloaded on terminaldisplay according to the second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 depicts a user interface of selectable services downloadable toterminal according to the second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 depicts a user interface of selected music video servicesdownloadable to terminal according to the second embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 9 depicts a user interface of selectable telecom servicesdownloadable to terminal according to the second embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 10 depicts a user interface of selectable ringing tonesdownloadable to terminal according to the second embodiment of theinvention;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following description of the various embodiments, reference ismade to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in whichis shown by way of illustration of embodiments in which the inventionmay be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may beutilized, and structural and functional modifications may be madewithout departing from the scope of the present invention. Althoughreference is made to a terrestrial digital video broadcasting network(DVB-T), it should be understood that the invention is applicable to anysuch digital broadband data broadcast network, and therefore theinvention is not intended to be limited by references to DVBT.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, handheld mobileterminals such as those capable of performing mobile communications andreceiving digital broadband data broadcasts is able to decrease powerconsumption by reducing the number of high power activities the terminalmust perform. The telecom network as referred to herein includes allcomponents of the mobile network and associated servers such as atelecom server and a portal server. In an embodiment of the invention,power conservation is achieved by increasing the period of time theterminal is inactive by eliminating the necessity for regularlyaccessing the service information data for DVB-T broadcasts. This stepis normally taken periodically to monitor the transmitted bit stream tocheck what is currently being broadcasted in the air, as specified e.g.in DVB Document A038 Rev.1 “Specification for service information (SI)in DVB Systems, or ETSI EN 301 192.

FIG. 1 illustrates a hybrid mobile telecom and DVB-T system operating inaccordance with the embodiment of the invention. The system provides aninteractive capability for users using mobile terminal 100 via a returnchannel through e.g. a UMTS, GPRS, GSM, WAP or other cellular network(or any combination thereof) to select specific broadcast programstransmitted from the digital Broadcast network 140. The user firstaccesses a portal page hosted on the Telecorm/Portal server 120. Theportal page may be, for example, a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)page fetched from Telecom Server 120, in which various selectable linksare displayed on terminal 100. The portal may be that of a generalpurpose page that contains links to a wide variety of services such asTV programs, games, music, news, banking, shopping etc. By way ofexample, when one wants to view a broadcasted TV program, the userselects the TV link which brings up a page that displays what iscurrently broadcasting in the air. The user could further select anoption to begin reception of the TV program currently playing or somesubsequent program, since the Broadcast server 130 typically broadcastson a program schedule in carousel fashion.

The selection procedure begins when the user clicks a hyperlink “n”associated with a service on the portal page. After which the terminalbrowser sends “get n” message to the Telecom server 120. If hyperlink“n” is to a service provided by Broadcast server 130, the Telecom server120 sends a request to the Broadcast server 130 to send serviceparameters such as the tuning frequency, port, IP address, ProgramIdentifier (PID), cell location, media access control (MAC), bandwidth,fft, constellation, code rate, guard interval, hierarchy and/orhierarchical priority, time, that are needed by the terminal e.g. whenthe service is offered on top of Internet Protocol, as shown in Table 1.The Telecom server 120 forwards service parameters to terminal 100 viathe UMTS/GPRS Network 110. From the received bit stream the terminal isable to determine the type of service. For example, if the desiredstream is currently being broadcasted, the terminal turns on thebroadcast receiver and launches a media player for playing back thestream. If the stream is e.g. a game application or music file that willbe broadcasted in, for example, t+10 minutes, the terminal 100 turns onthe broadcast receiver at t+10 minutes time in order to download and(optionally save) the file. When a future download is scheduled to occurat e.g. t+10 minutes, the terminal 100 can check the field strength att+9 minutes and notify the user of a weak field in order to repositionthe terminal for better reception. TABLE 1 Frequency PID PORT IP AddressTime Service 783,25 13 bit 21 192.168.1.128 13.52.30- number 13.55.09(0-8192

Typically only the necessary parameters related to the selected serviceare sent to the terminal, although it is possible to send parameters forall services which is generally unnecessary. The security issues such asencryption/decryption keys are typically handled by the native securityprovided by cellular channel in the WAP protocol, for example.

When a selected service resides on a server outside the system, such asbanking services for example, a connection to an external server 160 canbe achieved via the Internet 150 using standard WAP procedures, forexample. A multitude of services are accessible by the user through theInternet 150 are available such as e.g. banking, placing stock trades,making airline reservations, and shopping (e-commerce) etc. In thesecases only the mobile network 110 side is used such that any necessarysecure connections are established using a security layer such asWireless Transport Layer Security (WVTLS) in WAP, for example.

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary portal and its interrelation with contentresiding on the telecom and broadcast networks. The terminal accessesthe portal page 200 which is, for example, a WAP start or home page. TheTelecom/Portal server 120 can consist of a single server or an n numberof servers (where separate Telecom and Portal servers are shown).Broadcast server 130 can also consist of a plurality of servers whichprovide sufficiently large storage space for hosting content for theBroadcast Network. It should also be noted that the Telecom/Portalserver 120 and Broadcast server 130 may be logical servers which do nothave to be separate physical entities. In the figure, the portal startpage is compiled on server 2 consisting of services on server 1 and 3and perhaps containing services of web pages.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a typical data access procedure operating inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In step 300, aportal start page is displayed on the terminal having a built-in browserwhen the device is switched on, for example. The portal page lists aplurality of links that may be in an arrangement that is predeterminedor is customized by the user. The links on the portal page are oftenones that are of most interest to the user. In step 305, the userselects a link by “clicking” on it which in turn causes the terminal tosend a request (step 310) to the Portal Server 120 of the telecomnetwork via e.g. the WAP protocol. The telecom network determineswhether the desired content resides on the Telecom Server 120, BroadcastServer 130, or a server 160 on the Internet, as shown by step 315. Ifthe content is hosted on Telecom Server 120, it is retrieved and sent tothe terminal through the UMTS/GPRS network 110, as shown by step 320. Ifthe content resides on an external Internet server 160, it is retrievedusing standard Internet Protocol and sent to the terminal via theUMTS/GPRS network 110, also shown by step 320.

If the data is hosted on the Broadcast Server 130, the Portal server 120makes a request (step 325) to receive the service parameters from theBroadcast Server 130 via link 125, as shown in step 330. The request andresponse may be routed through the link 125 or via the Internet 150 ifthe telecom network and the broadcast network are geographicallydistant, such as in different parts of a city or in different cities forexample. The Portal server 120 sends the service parameters to theterminal vial the UMTS/GPRS network 110, as shown in step 335. Theterminal sets the internal broadcast receiver (step 340) to receive thebroadcast by tuning to the correct frequency and other tasks such assetting the right PID to demux, and if the services are on top ofIP/TCP, UDP etc., the packets that have the right address and portnumber go to IP stack that handles IPsec, for example. The broadcastreceiver is turned on in advance so that it has time to stabilize beforethe service is broadcasted, and such that the receiver is turned offafter the broadcast.

A suitable media player is launched to begin playing the streamedbroadcast on the terminal display, as shown by step 345. The mediaplayer is typically a software program executing on the terminal thatmay be upgradeable through the air via the telecom network. The level ofthe user's viewing privileges can be set by previous agreements witheither the telecom or broadcast operators and regulated by the mediaplayer software e.g. to control access to pay per view programs orprograms restricted from viewing.

A hybrid network portal may be implemented where services in manydifferent networks can be accessed from a single point of access(portal). Some of the services are delivered through the telecom networkand others by broadcast networks. This means that the broadcast receiverpart of the terminal can be kept switched off when the broadcastservices are not subscribed. In other words, the broadcast serviceparameters are sent using the telecom network instead of sendingElectronic Program guide (EPG) or service announcement tables throughbroadcast network. Therefore, the broadcast receiving part of theterminals don't need to listen to the stream to know what services areavailable, thus eliminating the regularly occurring scans of thebroadcast stream that are power consuming. A further advantage is that,when the user selects the TV link, the program information is retrievedimmediately so it is not necessary for the information to be storedlocally on the terminal, nor is it necessary for the terminal to waitfor the next data broadcast to obtain the information as in the priorart. The method of the invention permits the user to have thepossibility of selecting only those programs and/or files that they areinterested in. The Broadcast Server 130 sends updates of the currentbroadcast to the Portal Server 120 which are suitably formatted fordisplay on handheld devices such as mobile terminals.

Billing for the received broadcast services can be performed throughnormal telecom billing procedures. This is possible since all requestsfor services are routed through the telecom network is kept track of bya billing server associated with the network. These are typically thesame components that are used for calculating the user's telecom androaming charges using e.g. a ubiquitous GSW/UMTS billing platform. Thistechnique would take advantage of existing infrastructure and permitusers to receive broadcast services even while roaming and enables usersto receive a single bill for all services used. The use of GPRS providesan attractive return channel since the user is billed for transferreddata and not for the connection time.

One way that billing for broadcast services can be triggered is whene.g. the broadcast keys are sent to the user which allow the terminal todecrypt the digital packets, although other triggering events can beimplemented in the system. The embodiment of the invention enablesconvenient billing for telecom services and digital services via a lowcost broadband delivery channel. The content may be protected in variousmanners. DVB has specified Conditional access in e.g. document “SUPPORTFOR USE OF SCRAMBLING AND CONDITIONAL ACCESS WITHIN DIGITAL BROADCASTINGSYSTEMS DVB DOCUMENT, A007 February 1997”. If the content is distributedusing Internet Protocol then, IPSec or IPv6 security can be used, and inwhich case, the telecommunication channel would most likely be used toexchange related information.

The terminal 100 used in the invention is a mobile terminal with thecapability to receive digital broadcasts and access standard mobiletelecommunications networks with voice and data services using UMTS/GPRSand WAP, for example. The terminal contains many standard mobiletelecommunication components including a processor, memory (RAM andflash), and software such as a browser and a media player. A moredetailed description of an interactive mobile terminal containing mobiletelecommunications capability and DVB-T broadcast reception capabilityis given in International publication WO 01/17255 on behalf of thepresent Applicant. The terminal may also be fitted with a Digital AudioBroadcast (DAB) receiver for receiving digital audio broadcasts fromradio stations or for receiving digital audio broadcasted using DVB-Tand MPEG2 formats. It is also possible to equip the terminal withBluetooth functionality for interacting with other Bluetooth compatibledevices.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of the basic components in an exemplarymobile terminal that is suitable for use with the embodiment of theinvention. The mobile terminal 100 provides fully functioning wirelesscommunications that operate in accordance with standard mobiletelecommunications protocols such as UMTS/GPRS, GSM, CDMA, and TDMA,etc. Integrated in the mobile terminal is a DVB-T digital broadcastreceiver, a digital display for providing user interactivity in a mobileenvironment for viewing broadcasts. The interactive messages can be sentto the telecom network using WAP or even SMS messaging. In the mobileterminal, a DVB-T receiver 402 is capable of receiving digital TVbroadcasts in accordance with the DVB-T standard. In addition to TVbroadcasts, channels in the DVB-T spectrum can be used to transmitdigital data intended for receipt by specific users, which are typicallyencrypted for privacy and requiring encryption keys for playback.

A media decoder 406 is controlled by a CPU 404 and is used to decode thereceived DVB-T broadcast. The media decoder 406 can decode signals ine.g. MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 formats in the broadcast stream, or Real Media orWindows Media formats can be used in addition to others. Alternatively,the decoder can be selected to match other transmitted data protocolsfrom the broadcasted service.

A display interface 408 receives the decoded broadcast from the mediadecoder 406. The display interface 408 is designed to optimize thedisplay of data to a user of the MMT 400. For example, the digital datareceived can be in the form of a full-motion video movie or can be someother kind of graphic, since various formats require compatible modes tobe optimally displayed. The display interface 408 acts as a videointegrator e.g. it has the ability to place a graphics overlay onto afull-motion video and manipulate the display of the video by moving toanother part of the display and cropping to show essential moving parts,for example. The output of the display interface 408 drives the display410 of the mobile terminal 400. In the embodiment, the mobile terminal400 is equipped with WAP capability 412 to provide a data connection tothe telecom network via GPRS block 416. The UMTS block 414 providescircuit switched voice connections to the UMTS network and workstogether with the GPRS 416 for data communications to the network. Allthe components are controlled by CPU 404 in accordance with theenvironment. For example, when voice data is to be transmitted, the UMTSlink is activated and voice transmissions are exchanged with the telecomnetwork.

The DVB-T receiver 402 of the mobile terminal 400 is activated ordeactivated by the CPU 404. The DVB-T receiver 402 can be activatedmanually by the user such as when the user wishes to receive a broadcastmovie or is expecting to receive a broadcast file. The CPU 404 receivesthe service parameters associated with a current or future broadcast byaccessing the Portal Server 120 via the UMTS/GPRS network 110. Thereception of the service parameters can be initiated by the user (byclicking a link) or automatically by preprogrammed action by the user.Furthermore, push services can be implemented in the UMTS/GPRS networkto send a message which is displayed to notify the user that a desiredTV program will be broadcasting in e.g. 5 minutes and to confirm whetherthe user wishes to view it via a dialog box, for example. A message anddialog box could display something like: “The World News will bebroadcast in 5 minutes. If you would like to view the broadcast select‘OKAY’ else select ‘CANCEL’.”

The DVB-T receiver 402 is equipped with a timing element 418 enabling itto remain synchronous with the digital broadcast network. The timer 418makes it possible to switch on the receiver and pick up the selecteddata packets after a long period (perhaps days) after the last systemsynchronization. The timer 418 also enables the CPU 404 to provide powermanagement by powering down the DVB-T and other activities when not inuse. For example, video functionality is automatically shut down whennot in use i.e. digital broadcasts that are not currently in use or notneeded such as when web browsing or making voice calls.

FIG. 5 illustrates a second embodiment of the invention that depictingthe detailed use of an exemplary hybrid network portal 120 and itsinterrelation with data content residing on the telecom and broadcastnetworks. The content databases 510 in telecom side and contentdatabases 520 on the broadcast side can be maintained by differentoperators and can be linked to the portal server 120. The list ofdatabases (information about the content) are connected to the portalserver such that users can have access to the content via portal througha portal page from the mobile terminal 100. Use of the hybrid networkportal permits allows a single access point for services from differentnetworks, whereby some services can be delivered through thetelecommunications network and others can be delivered through broadcastnetwork. The broadcast service parameters are sent using bi-directionalmobile network to the mobile terminal instead of sending ElectronicProgram guide (EPG) or service announcement tables through broadcastnetwork. This dramatically decreases the power consumption of the mobileterminal since the DVB-T receiver is activated only when broadcasttransmissions are occurring which replaces the need for continuousmonitoring of the DVB-T network for available services. Furthermore, thesingle access point of the portal page interface operates independentlyof the protocol or channel used to access the services.

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary portal page 160 and user interface ofselectable services downloadable to terminal in accordance with thesecond embodiment of the invention. The exemplary portal page showschoices for the user to select between Broadcast Services and TelecomServices. Examples of Broadcast Services may include: videos, music (ina digital format), and large file downloads such as programs, games etc.Such broadcast services may be continuously broadcasted in a e.g. acarousel fashion over the air. Examples of Telecom Services provided, inaddition to conventional voice services, may include downloading ringingtones, browsing, and some file downloads. The portal page represents aconvenient access point describing available services in a quick andefficient manner using a wireless data protocol such as WAP.

FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary portal page obtained after the user hasselected “videos” from the prior portal page of FIG. 6. The userinterface shows selectable video services downloadable to terminal.Similarly, various types of videos are available which include e.g.sports, funny stuff, music, what's new, art, top ten videos as shown inthe figure. A further selection of a topic on this page leads to asubsequent page containing more detailed information on the selectedtopic. By way of example, if the topic “music” is selected, the usergets a selection of music available for reception as shown in FIG. 8.This “music” page depicts a user interface showing selected music videoservices downloadable to terminal. At the same time, the serviceinformation parameters are sent to the mobile terminal permitting thebroadcast receiver to correctly receive the broadcast of the selectedsong.

FIG. 9 shows a an example of a portal page and user interface ofselectable telecom services downloadable to terminal according to thesecond embodiment. The page depicts a number of selectable telecomservices, which are identified as such to indicate the network used. Inthe event that the user selects “Ringing Tones”, as shown in the figure,a new page is fetched displaying various ring tones that the user maywish to receive. FIG. 10 depicts an exemplary page presenting variousring tones for the user to download. The ring tones may be located onthe Telecom server 120 or on an Internet Server 100 offered by a thirdparty. The reception of downloaded telecom services typically operatevia the telecom network in a manner consistent with UMTS, GPRS, and GSMprotocols which may involve WAP or other wireless data protocols.

Although the invention has been described in some respects withreference to a specified embodiment thereof, variations andmodifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art. Forexample, ft is possible to adapt the invention to broadcast and receivedigital audio broadcasts (DAB), which is an international digitalstandard for radio stations that is slated to replace analog broadcasts.Furthermore, it may be possible to utilize a broadcast function operablewith UMTS networks for delivering data to multiple users. It istherefore the intention that the following claims not be given arestrictive interpretation but should be viewed to encompass variationsand modifications that are derived from the inventive subject matterdisclosed.

1. A system for providing services to a mobile terminal characterized inthat said services include broadband services and lower bandwidthservices, comprising: a mobile telecommunication network; at least onemobile telecommunication service server coupled to the mobiletelecommunication network for providing said lower bandwidth services; abroadcast network; at least one broadcast service server coupled to thebroadcast network for providing broadband services; and a portal servercoupled to the mobile telecommunication network and the at least onebroadcast service server, said servers communicating with the mobileterminal via the mobile telecommunication network for providinginformation relative to the services.
 2. The system according to claim 1characterized in that the mobile terminal is capable of receiving theprovided services independent of the service using the informationrelative to the services provided by the common portal server.
 3. Asystem according to claim 1 characterized in that the mobile terminal isa multimedia terminal comprising voice and packet data telecommunicationfunctionality, a browser for interfacing with the packet data, and abroadcast receiver for receiving digital broadcasts from the broadcastnetwork.
 4. A system according to claim 1 characterized in that themobile terminal includes a browser capable of operating with any one ofWAP, XHTML, CHTML, and HTML protocols for transmitting and receivingpacket data with the mobile telecommunication network.
 5. The systemaccording to claim 1, characterized in that the lower bandwidth servicescomprise mobile services and packet data services transmitted via mobiletelecommunication network.
 6. A system according to claim 1characterized in that the mobile telecommunication network is a networksuch as UMTS/GPRS or WCDMA network wherein packet data is capable ofbeing exchanged between the network 4 and the mobile terminal.
 7. Thesystem according to claim 1, characterized in that the broadbandservices comprise digital broadcast services.
 8. A system according toclaim 1 characterized in that the broadcast network is a digitalbroadband broadcast network such as DVB-T or DAB.
 9. A system accordingto claim 8 characterized in that the broadcast service such as a TVprogram is broadcast to the mobile terminal (100) from the broadcastserver (via the DVB-T network
 1. 10. The system according to claim 1,characterized in that a portal page (160) provides the informationrelative to the services to the mobile terminal (100).
 11. A systemaccording to claim 1 characterized in that a portal page is hosted onthe portal server (429) and displayed on the mobile terminal (100) inthe form of selectable hyperlinks.
 12. A system according to claim 1characterized in that the mobile telecommunication network and thebroadcast network each host a connection to the Internet for accessingcontent from servers from the Internet.
 13. A portal server coupled to abroadband network and to a lower bandwidth network for providingbroadband and lower bandwidth service transmissions to a mobileterminal, characterized in that said portal server comprises: means foraccessing selectable service information relative to said broadbandservice transmissions; means for accessing selectable serviceinformation relative to said lower bandwidth service transmissions; anda controller for selecting service information for said broadband andlower bandwidth service transmissions based on a service request by auser of the mobile terminal.
 14. The portal server of claim 13,characterized in that the portal server further comprises means to routethe service request by the user to a selected service provider.
 15. Theportal server of claim 13, characterized in that the portal serverfurther comprises means for transmitting the selected serviceinformation to the mobile terminal based on the service request by theuser of the mobile terminal.
 16. A method of accessing atelecommunication system by a mobile terminal for receiving voice,packet data, and broadcast services, wherein the telecommunicationsystem is comprised of a mobile network linked to a telecom server and aportal server, a broadcast network 9 linked to a broadcast server and tothe mobile network, and wherein the mobile terminal is capable ofcommunicating with the mobile network and receiving broadcasts from thebroadcast network, the method is characterized in that the serviceinformation associated with a broadcast from the broadcast network isobtained by the mobile terminal via the mobile network, thereby loweringpower consumption by the mobile terminal by avoiding alternative highpower actions for obtaining said information.
 17. A method according toclaim 16 characterized in that the mobile network exchanges packet datawith the mobile terminal using the UMTS/GPRS protocol.
 18. A methodaccording to claim 16 characterized in that the broadcast network 3broadcasts signals in accordance with the DVB-T standard.
 19. A methodaccording to claim 16 characterized in that the mobile terminal is amobile terminal comprising mobile voice and packet datatelecommunication functionality, a browser for interfacing with thepacket data, and a broadcast receiver for receiving digital broadcastsfrom the broadcast network.
 20. A method according to claim 16characterized in that the mobile network is a voice and packet datacapable network such as a UMTS network.
 21. A method according to claim16 characterized in that the accessing of the portal page and datacommunication between the mobile terminal and the mobile network isperformed using the WAP or HTTP protocols.
 22. A method according toclaim 16 characterized in that the broadcast services include at leastone of TV programs, movies, digital radio, music files, data files, orinteractive games which are broadcasted in a carousel or streamingmanner over the air.
 23. A method according to claim 16 characterized inthat the service parameters transmitted to the mobile terminal includeat least one of a tuning frequency, IP address, Program ID (PID), time,or encryption keys for enabling the reception of the broadcast service.24. A method according to claim 16 characterized in that the serviceparameters are requested from the mobile network and retrieved from thebroadcast network via the Internet, especially if they aregeographically distant.
 25. A method according to claim 16 characterizedin that the broadcast network 1 broadcasts digital audio using DVB-T orMPEG-2 format to the mobile terminal.
 26. A method according to claim 16characterized in that the broadcast services are broadcast by the mobilenetwork using the native broadcast functionality in UMTS.
 27. A methodaccording to claim 16 characterized in that the mobile terminal can bepreprogramed to display or save broadcasted content starting at theappropriate scheduled time of the broadcast.
 28. A wireless handheldmobile terminal 100 for providing services to a user characterized inthat said mobile terminal comprises: a radio frequency transceiver forcommunicating with a mobile telecommunication network for receivinglower bandwidth services; a broadcast receiver for receiving broadbandservices from a digital broadcast network; an input user interfaceincluding selectable links to access service information relative tobroadband and lower bandwidth services for entering user request toselected service to be transmitted via the mobile telecommunicationnetwork; a CPU connected to said radio frequency transceiver and to saidbroadcast receiver for controlling communication with the mobiletelecommunication network and the reception of broadband services; and ameans for displaying requested service to the user.
 29. A wirelesshandheld terminal according to claim 28 characterized in that theterminal further comprises means for obtaining service informationrelated to the broadcast content via the mobile telecommunicationnetwork.
 30. A wireless handheld terminal according to claim 28,characterized in that the terminal further comprises a media decoderconnected to the broadcast receiver and the CPU to decode the broadcastcontent received over the air.
 31. A wireless handheld terminalaccording to claim 28, further comprising means for audio output forreproducing high quality audio associated with the broadcast content.32. A computer program product comprising program instructionsexecutable by a computing system for operating networks that providemobile telecommunication services and digital broadcast content to amobile terminal, comprising: computer program code for receiving a userrequest from the mobile terminal for information necessary for receivingthe broadcast content which is sent via the mobile telecommunicationsnetwork; computer program code for executing the user request andsending the information to the mobile terminal using packet datatransmission; computer program code for facilitating communicationbetween a mobile telecommunication network and a broadcast networkhosting the broadcast content; and computer program code for performingthe transmission of broadcast content from the broadcast network (to themobile terminal.
 33. A computer program product according to claim 32,further comprises means for operating a telecom server and/or a portalserver connected to the telecommunication network.
 34. A computerprogram product according to claim 32, further comprises means foroperating a broadcast server connected to the broadcast network and tothe telecommunication network.
 35. A computer program product accordingto claim 32 wherein the program code for sending information necessaryfor receiving the broadcast content, such as frequency, time, PID, or IPaddress port etc., to the mobile terminal is implemented in a datatransmission protocol such as WAP or HTTP.
 36. An Electronic ProgramGuide (EPG) for comprising information on broadband services provided bya broadband network, characterized in that the Electronic Program Guideinformation is accessible to a wireless mobile terminal via a portalpage communicated through a mobile telecommunication network, andwherein broadcast service parameters associated with a user selectedbroadcast service are sent via a portal server coupled to the broadbandnetwork and the mobile telecommunication network.